When it comes to controlling environmental imperatives end-to-end in your supply chain, a fleet of privately-owned trucks may be just the ticket. That’s one of the major conclusions drawn from a recent research project sponsored by Manhattan Associates, IBM, and CSC Consulting conducted across the readership base of Logistics Management and Supply Chain Management Review.

Among other key study objectives was to document senior level commitment to corporate sustainability plans now in place. In doing so, researchers were able to identify the most important green issues for supply chain professionals and gain a better understanding of how they measure return on investment.

Upon further investigation, the research team also learned how shippers representing a wide range of industries are viewing the chain of command in this process. What they found was that more and more companies are charging a single senior executive with oversight of green initiatives, for example, and most have a plan in place to benchmark “distribution centric” issues (See all the key findings from the 2008 Green Supply Chain Study report at logisticsmgmt.com/greenstudy).

However, one of the more surprising findings that the research team bumped into was the fact that the companies operating private fleets may be in the best position to implement and maintain a long-term sustainability strategy. Over the next few pages we’ll un-earth some no-nonsense, eco-friendly fleet management tips and then take a closer look at how Ranor Relatores, senior director of transportation and vendor logistics at The Kroger Co., has turned the company’s private fleet into an industry model.

Transportation expert Mona Maurelli, principal of the supply chain practice at CSC Consulting and part of the research team, has heard all the noise about “greening” the network and has a few suggestions for those charged with managing a private fleet. First, says Maurelli, find ways to minimize fuel consumption by tracking arterial links.

“Route planning and driver behavior are crucial elements when it comes to sourcing optimization with a private fleet,” she says. “And don’t forget about best practices when it comes to maintenance.” According to Maurelli, shipment consolidation is one of the major opportunities to reduce transportation’s overall carbon footprint, too. Private fleet managers should “maximize” the space utilization of every truckload and plan for close to 100 percent truck utilization, she advises; in turn, this reduces the number of trucks required to deliver goods.

“Shippers managing a private fleet should establish optimal routes, which lowers both fuel consumption and carbon emissions,” says Maurelli. “These changes reduce overall supply chain costs, and companies become more socially responsible in the process.” And she is quick to point out that a highway vs. city dichotomy means that “all miles are not created equal.”

For example, the shortest route may have more stoplights and/or worse traffic, which increases idling time and calls for more frequent acceleration. This is less fuel efficient than driving at a consistent speed, she says. “Focus on low-carbon transport options. For example, train, plane, ship, and truck all have different carbon tradeoffs between cost, service level, and carbon impact.”

But it is in trucking—whether it be private or contracted—where the greatest amount of control can be exerted: “Programs that allow drivers and independent contractors to operate any company’s vehicle, are becoming increasingly important,” she says. “This strategy optimizes all available drivers and equipment from a single pool.”

This so-called “driver/trailer share” program is being widely embraced by manufacturers and private fleet operators, adds Maurelli, but it’s not the only step a company can take to keep green. “We strongly advise companies to develop a corporate driving policy,” she says. “How a vehicle is driven also influences fuel efficiency. Sudden acceleration, harsh breaking and leaving the engine idling for long periods are driver behaviors that can be corrected.”

Maurelli also suggests that fleet operators consider installing GPS and engine monitoring technology. These units can measure engine idling, speed, breaking distance, and other driver behavior. Of course, driver buy-in is a critical component of this transformation. Maurelli spent most of her career with UPS before turning to consulting and knows a thing or two about managing within a “union mentality.”

“If you are outsourcing or contracting with union drivers, they are going to resist change if it does not compensate them for adhering to a new system,” she says. “But at UPS, our people understood the advantages of maximizing cube space and using the best software to determine highway versus city street options.”

Another lesson learned at UPS, she says, was that supplier distance can impact component cost, carbon emission, and inventory—all of which can be quantified to evaluate an organization’s procurement strategy. “Network optimization strategies can be revised to address the additional carbon variable and its impact on facility placement, manufacturing, distribution, and transportation operations,” she says.

Furthermore, adds Maurelli, measuring suppliers in terms of reducing product packaging and conserving natural resources can also be part of the greening process. By building product closer to the customer, companies can also cut miles and transit time, Marelli says, noting that by outfitting fleets with auxiliary power units (equipment that keeps a driver warm or cool at night when they’re off the clock), companies can save millions of gallons of diesel fuel per year.

“The public relations benefit is that it also reduces metric tons of carbon dioxide,” she says. “That’s something the public should appreciate.”

But keep it simple, she stresses. A preventative maintenance plan is one of the easiest ways to reduce fuel consumption and harmful emissions. Low tire pressure, incorrect wheel alignment and clogged air filters have a big affect on fuel efficiency. “Evaluate the use of re-refined oil if it is appropriate for the fleet and consistent with manufacturer recommendations. Excessive engine idling is one of the biggest culprits,” she says. “An idling diesel engine can burn as much as one gallon of fuel per hour, unnecessarily producing greenhouse gasses.”

Finally, Maurelli advises that fleets switch to bio-diesel fuel. “Safeway reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 75 million pounds a year by converting to cleaner fuel-burning engines in their fleet. This is the equivalent of taking nearly 7,500 cars off the road,” she says. Furthermore, she adds, it helped enhance Safeway’s public perception.

Maurelli is among the many analysts who’ve suggested that Safeway is hardly the only “cutting edge” player deserving recognition in their green fleet management operations. Maurelli also gives high marks to The Kroger Co., one of the nation’s largest retail grocery stores and an operator of 41 food processing plants across the U.S.

The supply chain challenges of such a far-flung enterprise are substantial, and it’s up to Ranor Relatores, senior director of transportation and vendor logistics, to keep private fleet operations as green as possible. “Our fleet network strategy began a number of years ago,” says Relatores. “We brought together an internal team that was cross-functional, and we were able to implement the new processes that made us more efficient and more sustainable.”

Operating out of the company’s Cincinnati headquarters, Relatores oversees a trucking operation that continues to evolve. “The company has long been involved in environmental stewardship and social responsibility,” says Relatores. “We define sustainability as our commitment to continuously improve our environmental and social impact in order to support our communities, improve the lives of our customers and associates, and ensure the long term success of our business. Sustainability is a broad term that affects all areas of our business.”

And building on that company-wide commitment, Kroger’s internal logistics operations have long been focused on doing things more efficiently and with the least amount of waste, adds Relatores. “We are constantly striving to improve our store delivery operations from both a cost and service aspect. As we work to meet those goals, we have found that they were clearly aligned with our sustainability goals. Our efforts to reduce total miles include more efficient mapping and planning of routes, keeping our fleet fully utilized and well maintained, and operating safely.”

But for Relatores, the most important measure for both sustainability and efficiency is total miles traveled. “That measurement is decreasing and will continue to do so,” he says. “By the end of 2010 we will have saved more than a million gallons of diesel fuel.”

Kroger has improved miles per gallon by adjusting engine idling times and gear speed settings as well as by setting recommended top speeds of 62 miles per hour—or the state limit if lower. The company also reduced the weight of tractors and trailers by cutting the weight of new tractors by approximately 900 pounds. This five percent reduction in tractor weight translates to increased payload capability.

According to Relatores, reducing the miles its fleet travels by using special vehicles such as multi-temperature refrigerated trucks, super trucks, and backhauls, enables them to combine loads and shorten trips. Taken together, he says, these processes will help Kroger reduce its total mileage traveled by two percent by the end of 2010.